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PeerBasis
Compensation Comparability Determination

Arts Northwest

Executive Director / CEO

EIN 943048927
WA · NTEE A026
FY ending 2023-12-31
June 9, 2026

This analysis benchmarks the total compensation of Carolyn Calhoun, Executive Director / CEO ($76,112) against the 2000 closest of 2,533 comparable organizations — drawn systematically from IRS Form 990 filings, not a hand-picked subset.

Compensation sits at approximately the 85th percentile of comparable organizationswithin the typical range

Benchmarked executive: Carolyn Calhoun — reported title “Executive Director”, a direct title match to the Executive Director / CEO role.

How comparable organizations were selected

2,533 organizations qualified on sector, size, and geography 2,000 within the band form the benchmarked peer set (closest by budget).

Distribution of comparable compensation

$22 total compensation of comparable organizations → $310,871 $76,112
$7,32810th
$22,33925th
$42,875Median
$63,47575th
$83,04190th
$76,112This org · 85th
p10$7,328
p25$22,339
p50$42,875
p75$63,475
p90$83,041
$76,112

Comparable organizations

Each figure is Form 990 Part VII columns D + F (reportable pay plus other compensation and benefits; column F may include amounts from related organizations), normalized to WA cost of living (BEA RPP, 2023) and to its filing year (CPI-U); the reported amount is on each linked 990.

OrganizationStateRevenueMatched titleComp
(reported)
Comp
(adjusted)
FY
Bach Beethoven & Brahms Society Of Boston Inc MA$236,272 Director $1,803 $1,712 2025
Okc Improv Foundation OK$236,224 Executive Director $22,125 $26,431 2024
Gallery Night Of Pensacola Inc FL$236,039 Director $43,880 $44,721 2024
Metropolitan Youth Symphony Inc MI$236,483 Executive Director $37,451 $40,856 2025
Partnership Inc AK$236,483 Executive Di $56,040 $59,842 2023
Monroe-walton Center For The Arts Inc GA$235,995 Executive Dir. $44,294 $48,317 2024
Pipeline Theatre Company Inc NY$236,519 Artist Trustee $10,122 $9,667 2025
George & Leah Mckenna Museum Of African American Art LA$236,523 Office Manager $66,950 $79,979 2024
Cabots Museum Foundation CA$235,940 Executive Dir. $70,000 $65,577 2024
Community Arts & Empowerment CA$236,571 Ceo $48,400 $45,341 2024
Oregon Mozart Players OR$236,572 Executive Di $25,000 $24,538 2025
Le Chat Noir Inc GA$236,621 Secretary $40,000 $44,922 2023
Wendys Subway Inc NY$235,887 President $805 $789 2024
Historic Preservation Trust Of PA$235,874 Director $1,380 $1,537 2023
Vienna Arts Society Inc VA$235,835 Art Center D $15,000 $16,177 2023
B H Foxy Foundation Inc CA$235,814 Chair/executive Director $55,708 $52,188 2024
Gilbert Historical Society Inc AZ$236,777 Presidentceo $70,000 $71,153 2025
Garfield Heritage Society IL$236,787 Executive Director $3,338 $3,560 2024
Republic Of Letters WA$236,809 President, Publisher, Editor $67,750 $65,806 2024
Art & Soul Oakland CA$235,700 President, Ceo $26,000 $25,076 2023
Avokado Artists Inc NM$236,815 President $45,417 $52,995 2024
Roanoke Childrens Theatre Inc VA$235,675 Executive Dir. $4,950 $5,185 2024
Bill And Sara Morgan Real Estate TX$235,673 Secretary $53,774 $58,357 2024
Dance Studies Association IL$236,904 Executive Director $50,797 $54,179 2024
Cincinnati Fire Museum OH$235,503 Executive Director $78,000 $92,275 2023

Comp (reported) is the figure on each organization's Form 990 (columns D + F); Comp (adjusted) normalizes it to WA cost of living and 2023 dollars. Click any organization to verify the figure on ProPublica.

Methodology

Comparable organizations were drawn from electronically filed IRS Form 990 returns and matched on sector (NTEE code), budget (a size-adaptive revenue band that tightens as the organization grows), and geography (same-state first, broadening only when too few peers qualify); every organization within the band forms the peer set. To compare fairly across regions and years, peer compensation is normalized to WA cost of living (BEA Regional Price Parities, 2023) and to the subject's filing year (CPI-U). The figure benchmarked is Form 990 Part VII, Section A, columns D + F — reportable pay plus other compensation, benefits, and deferred amounts (column F may include amounts from related organizations) — with the chief executive matched by role. Related-organization amounts (column E) and institutional trustees are excluded. Full methodology: peerbasis.org/methodology.

Sample, role match & sensitivity

Sensitivity — the subject's percentile under alternative compensation definitions:

BasisSubject percentile
Total compensation (D + F), cost-of-living + inflation adjusted — the PeerBasis default85th
Total compensation (D + F), as reported (no adjustments)89th
Reportable pay only (column D), adjusted85th
All sources (D + E + F), adjusted83rd

If the percentile moves materially across these definitions, the result is sensitive to methodology choices, and the board should weigh which basis best fits its facts.

Rebuttable presumption of reasonableness · 26 CFR 53.4958-6

Compensation paid by a tax-exempt organization is presumed reasonable — shifting the burden to the IRS — when three requirements are met. This report supplies the comparability data for the second. The board should record the following in its minutes concurrently with its decision:

Draft board minutes — executive compensation

  1. The compensation of the Executive Director / CEO (Carolyn Calhoun) was approved in advance by [the Board / Compensation Committee], composed of members with no conflict of interest with respect to the arrangement.
  2. Prior to its determination, the authorized body obtained and relied upon appropriate comparability data, namely the PeerBasis Compensation Comparability Determination dated June 9, 2026, comparing compensation against 2000 similarly situated organizations (Same NTEE major group (A), nationwide + budget 0.67–1.5× revenue).
  3. The authorized body determined that total compensation of $76,112 is reasonable (approximately the 85th percentile of comparable organizations) and documented the basis for this determination concurrently, on [date], by a vote of [__ for / __ against].

Sources: IRS Form 990 e-file data (apps.irs.gov); IRS Business Master File (NTEE classification). Every figure traces to an original public filing — click any organization above to verify it on ProPublica. PeerBasis is a service of Prismind Analytics; its methodology is published, was commissioned for independent adversarial review, and discloses its own limitations. This report is comparability data to support a board's good-faith determination under IRC 4958; it is not legal or tax advice. Generated by PeerBasis on June 9, 2026.